Waiting
by Angel-kohai
Summary: With nothing but a blanket, she sits outside in her pajamas as she usually did. He always came back, so why wouldn't he this time? It wouldn't be much longer now... [RATED K PLUS for sensitive content]


**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own any STH characters used in this story. They belong to SEGA. I do, however, own the OC child, Jewel.

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 _x*Waiting*x_

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The autumn night breeze picked up, a slight whistling sound made to accompany the rustling of trees. Small, twinkling stars and a full moon were painted on a midnight canvas above, illuminating everything below. Although, just outside a house sat a small magenta female with bright jade eyes wrapped in a blanket. Letting out a sigh, she looked up.

 _He should be here any minute now._

Using only the sky as her clock, she counted down in her head. In just two minutes, she would jump up into the arms of her father after a hard mission. Even though her mom was against her staying up so late, she would always sneak out. He was usually calm about it, scolding her later away from mother's ears, but happy nonetheless. It gave the small hedgehog a warm feeling inside to see him smile. He rarely ever did these days…

The magenta girl shivered as the wind started to pick up. It wouldn't be much longer now. He always came back, and as long as he did, why wouldn't he the next time? Mom told her many tales where he always triumphed in the end.

Her ears perked up at the sound of a _clicking_ sound on pavement. A gasp escaped her lips, already excited. The closer it got, the less she was able to control herself. Not wanting to wait a minute more, she jumped up and embraced the being walking up to the door.

...but she quickly drew back and looked up.

Sniffling was audible and realized the person she hugged wasn't her father. Instead, it was an ivory bat with tears in her stunning blue eyes. The lady hiccuped and leaned down to her height, stroking the side of her face.

"Where's daddy?" the little girl asked. She wondered if this was some kind of game. Maybe her dad was teaching her a lesson about staying up? But he wouldn't do that, would he? He'd be here no matter what...

More tears streamed down the bat's face and she pulled her back in for a hug and sobbed. The magenta hedgehog was beyond confused. Why was she crying? Why was she crying _so_ _hard?_ Where was-

"I'm sorry, Jewel..h-he won't be home for a while..." the ivory woman said softly.

The small girl, Jewel, stepped away from the woman, tears welling up in her eyes. _Won't be home for a while…? But he always comes home!_

"What do you mean?" Jewel asked, her voice cracking partially from fear. It broke the bat's heart to try and tell her the tragedy that's happened, but she tried to deliver the news as best she could.

"Shadow didn't make it this time, hun…" the bat tried, but to no avail. The little girl shook her head furiously, frowning deeply, and ran past her to look for her father. She was a smart child, she knew when he was supposed to be home.

"Daddy! Daddy, come out! This isn't funny anymore!" Jewel cried, tears starting to well up in her eyes. The porch light flickered on and an older pink-furred female walked out of the house behind her. She quickly turned around to face her mother, standing in the doorway.

"Jewel, what are you doing out here screaming?" she scolded softly, then noticed the other female outside with her, "...Rouge?"

Rouge picked herself up and went over the older female, embracing her. This caught her off guard, but frowned when she saw her tear-stained cheeks. The small magenta girl ran to the sidewalk and looked both ways, squinting hard in the dark.

She wanted to hear the _click_ of her dad's metal shoes against the pavement.

She wanted to see the small smile on his face when he saw her.

She wanted to hear his voice, saying how happy he was to see her...

Clearing her throat, the ivory woman straightened up, "I'm sorry, Amy – I really am. Shadow isn't coming home..."

"Stop saying that! Daddy is coming home, I know it! He always does," Jewel trailed off when she saw her mom crying. "Mommy?"

Amy sobbed once before walking up to her child. Carefully, she picked her up and slowly walked back towards the house. Stopping in front of Rouge, she sighed, "Thank you for telling me Rouge. Go home and get some rest, I'm sure you need it."

"Wait! No, she can't leave yet. Daddy isn't back yet, she has to know where he is, right?" the smaller pink-furred girl said.

Trying to stay strong, the ivory bate looked up at the sky, "I guess you could say he's in a better place...but don't worry hun. You'll see him soon – you just have to wait a bit." Giving Amy one last squeeze, she walked away.

 _Click. Click. Click._

Tears ran down Jewel's face as the sound grew softer and softer still, until it disappeared altogether. Hearing nothing but her own labored breathing, she buried her head in the crook in her mom's neck. The older hedgehog swallowed hard to keep her own tears at bay and entered their home.

"Mommy?" she sobbed.

"Yes, sweetie?" Amy replied softly.

"How long do I have to wait to see daddy…?"

There was a pause before she received an answer, "Well, let's hope it's not anytime soon. You're a bit too young to go where he is for a while."

The magenta girl lifted her head to stare into the jade orbs of her mother. There were tears, but none of them were falling. _Mommy doesn't usually cry when daddy doesn't come home on time. I guess that means..._

"I don't like waiting very long, mommy." Amy smiled sadly at how similar her child was to her father.

"I know. I hate waiting myself." the older female said, choking back a sob. Jewel laid against her mother as she was carried to her parent's room instead of her own. Tears were falling freely between the two of them.

"I think I can wait a little to see daddy," the girl said softly. "We're going to be together until then, right?"

"Of course. I'll stay right by your side as long as I can." Amy vowed. Her daughter nodded slightly and hugged her.

"I hope daddy's ready to wait too."

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 **What am I even doing?! I honestly have no idea anymore. I** **'m in a mood,** **I'm listening to m** **usic** **and I'm** **writing my feelings out** **. So** **mething short, a bit based on a personal experience for me even though it may have been a bit hard to capture this moment from a small child's perspective since I'm older, heh. There MAY be an alternate ending; depends but I hope you enjoyed it either way!**

 **U** **ntil next time ~Angel**


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